When you start to think about designing a lighting scheme for outdoors you need to first understand the roles that lighting will play in the use and the enjoyment of each part of your exterior space.
You can begin by dividing the outdoor space into "areas of lighting" - ground areas, wall areas, garden areas, recessed areas, ceiling areas, roof areas, walkway areas, etc.
Then within each area take a look at the "type of lighting" which is required to meet your lighting needs.
Aurora Lighting has put together a short guide by Area and by Type - see the picture below to see the cross references of the types of lighting required for a specific area.
Types of Outdoor Lighting
- Ornamental lighting - when the garden features or other exterior space features are lit for visual appeal. Example: the rope lights and rope LED lights.
- Amenity Lighting - For safety and practical purposes they are used on patios, to light a dining area, or on a drive to help moving shopping or children from a car. Example: the bollards, post lights, pillar lights, etc.
- Task lighting - makes it possible to carry out specific jobs outdoors, such as cooking on a BBQ or fetching objects from a building, etc. For example, the flood lights, the wall lights, etc.
- Access lights - These lights permit safe movement around the garden or outdoors by lighting paths, steps, doors, water, etc. Example: walkover lights, the spike lights, etc.
- Security lighting - deters intruders, creates an illusion of occupation, and re-assures the homeowners. Example: the flood and sign lighting, the wall lights - especially the PIR lights.
